I am smoker, Can I replace my Teeth with Dental Implants?

Dental Implant is a modern and popular solution to replace your missing teeth which is designed in such a way that you can look, feel and function like your natural teeth.

Unfortunately, there are some contraindication of dental implant, ‘SMOKING’ is one of the factor which interferes with implant placement.

Dental Implant and Smoking:

How smoking will affect the implant placement?

According to numerous studies report, the failure rate of implant ranging 6.5% to 20% in smokers compare to non-smoker which is directly proportional to tobacco use.

Smoking can prolong the healing time and increased the post operation complication due to following reason:

Due to the presence of nicotine in tobacco products its change the oxygen carrying capacity of hemoglobin to healing site. Carbon monoxide binds with the hemoglobin instead of oxygen which reduced the tissue oxygenation around the implant surface.

Nicotine is a vasoconstrictor which constrict the blood vessels also Smoking makes a blood thicker which does not allowed blood flow from narrow blood vessels to healing site

In addition, smoking limit the activity of neutrophils which increased the risk of infection four times more compare to nonsmokers. (IOSR-Journal of dental and medical science).

Some research also found that smoker may experience more pain compare to non-smokers.

After the initial healing completion, smokers have high tendency toward the implant failure due marginal bone loss around the dental implant. That’s significantly depends on numbers of cigarettes consumption. (>than 14/day)